Taekwondo Training, Taekwondo Fellowship, Taekwondo Spirit!

Why Should YOU Join the U.S. National Taekwondo Association?

Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art. This art is headquartered in the Republic of Korea (ROK). In the ROK, the governing body for Taekwondo is the Korea Taekwondo Association (KTA). Traditional Taekwondo is a fighting art, used for non-military purposes in self-defense. Taekwondo is taught under several different schools or systems, referred to as Kwans. Each Kwan teaches its own style of Taekwondo. A student of Taekwondo receives their ranking from their Kwan. All legitimate Kwans of Taekwondo are headquartered in the ROK. Taekwondo students of Dan (black belt) level may also request rank recognition through the KTA

Some years ago, a decision was made to create a sport form of Taekwondo. A separate organization, the World Taekwondo Federation, was created to govern this new sport. The sport form of Taekwondo is now recognized as an Olympian Sport. The World Taekwondo Federation is recognized as the International Governing Body for the sport form of Taekwondo.

The purpose, aims, and goals of Olympic Taekwondo are totally different than the martial arts from which it takes its name. In the ROK, only children are taught Olympic Taekwondo, which is the Korean National Sport. Some women and all international athletes also continue to study the sport style. While all adult male Korean practitioners learn the Olympic Taekwondo forms, since it is the national sport, men - and women who choose to do so practice the traditional forms of Taekwondo.

KukKiWon is the Taekwondo sport complex of the Korean Amateur Sports Association, the Korean equivalent of the American Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). While the headquarters of the WTF is located in this sports complex, KukKiWon is not subject to the discipline or control of the International Olympic Committee.

Since the governing body for the martial art of Taekwondo, the KTA, has a different goal for the martial art of Taekwondo, the head of Korea's sports association become the president of the WTF. According to the Federal Sports Act of 1978, there is no legitimate need for any Taekwondo practitioners in the U.S. to pay for a rank certificate from this Korean amateur sports association called The World Taekwondo Federation.

The USNTA has formed a strong alliance with the Korean Taekwondo Association in and for this country to establish a direct link to Taekwondo’s authentic Korean lineage and to ensure the continued practice of Taekwondo as a martial art. We represent traditional Taekwondo as it is practiced in the homeland of the art. We bring the highest Grandmasters in the ROK to the USA to conduct our training. In the eyes of the founding fathers of Taekwondo in Korea, we are Traditional Taekwondo in the United States.

Yours in Taekwondo,

Richard Hackworth

USNTA Founder

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